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Why has my take-home pay changed this month?
A practical guide to checking your payslip and understanding why the amount reaching your bank account may have changed.
Quick Answer
If your take-home pay has changed unexpectedly, start by comparing this month's payslip with your previous one.
Look first at your gross pay and then at each deduction.
Common reasons for a change include:
• a different tax code or amount of Income Tax;
• a change in National Insurance;
• pension contributions;
• student or postgraduate loan repayments;
• a salary, overtime, bonus or commission change;
• sick pay, unpaid leave or another absence;
• salary sacrifice or benefits;
• another deduction from your wages;
• or a payroll error.
Do not assume that a lower bank payment automatically means your employer has underpaid you. Work out whether the difference comes from your gross pay, tax or another deduction first.
If you cannot explain the difference from your payslip, ask your employer's payroll or HR team to explain the calculation.
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Your take-home pay is the amount you receive after deductions have been taken from your gross pay.If your take-home pay has changed, it does not necessarily mean your salary or hourly rate has changed. The difference may be caused by a change in the amount you earned, or by a change in one of the deductions taken from your pay.
Start by Comparing Your Payslips
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Gross pay
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Income Tax
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National Insurance
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Pension contributions
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Student loan repayments
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Overtime, bonuses or other additional payments
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Other deductions
Looking at the figures side by side can often help you identify what has changed.
Has Your Gross Pay Changed?
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a salary increase or decrease;
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overtime;
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bonus or commission;
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a change in the number of hours worked;
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unpaid leave;
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sickness absence;
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family-related leave;
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joining or leaving part-way through a pay period;
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or another change to your pay.
Compare the gross-pay figure with what you expected from your salary, hours and other payments for that pay period.
If the gross amount itself looks wrong, the issue may be with how your employer has calculated your pay rather than with tax or another deduction.
Gross pay is the amount you are being paid before deductions are taken.. Your gross pay might change because of:
Has Your Tax Code Changed?
Your employer uses your tax code to work out how much Income Tax to deduct through PAYE. If your tax code changes, the amount of tax taken from your pay can change too.
Your tax code can change for a number of reasons, including changes in your income or circumstances.
Check the tax code shown on your payslip and compare it with your previous payslip.
You can also check the tax code HMRC holds for you using HMRC's online services or app.
If the code on your payslip is different from the code HMRC has issued, ask your employer to check it. If the code itself appears wrong for your circumstances, you may need to contact HMRC.
Do not rely only on whether the code looks familiar — check the current code HMRC has for you.
Has the Amount of Income Tax Changed?
Even if your salary has not changed, the amount of Income Tax deducted can sometimes be different.
Start by checking:
• the tax code on your payslip;
• your taxable pay;
• the amount of tax deducted this month;
• and the amount deducted on your previous payslip.
HMRC provides an online service that can help employees check whether the tax shown on a payslip is likely to be correct.
If your employer has used the tax code supplied by HMRC but you believe the code itself is wrong, the issue will normally need to be checked with HMRC rather than your employer deciding what tax code should apply.
Has Your National Insurance Changed?
National Insurance is normally deducted through payroll and the amount can change when your earnings change.
Check the National Insurance figure on your current and previous payslips.
A change may be connected to:
• different earnings in the pay period;
• a bonus or other additional payment;
• a change affecting how your pay is calculated;
• or the National Insurance category being used.
If the amount looks unexpected and you cannot understand it from your payslip, ask payroll to explain how it was calculated.
Pension contributions can also change the amount of pay that reaches your bank account.
Check whether:
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your employee contribution has changed;
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your pensionable pay has changed;
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you have recently joined or changed a pension arrangement;
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additional pay has affected your contribution;
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or your pension operates through a salary sacrifice arrangement.
The way pension contributions affect take-home pay can depend on how your workplace pension scheme is set up.
If you are unsure why the pension deduction changed, ask payroll or your pension provider to explain the contribution shown on your payslip.
Have Your Pension Contributions Changed?
Are There Any New or Different Deductions?
Look at every other deduction on your payslip and compare it with the previous pay period.
These might include:
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student or postgraduate loan repayments;
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salary sacrifice arrangements;
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trade union subscriptions;
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repayments you have previously agreed to;
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court-ordered deductions;
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or another authorised deduction.
If you see a deduction you do not recognise, ask your employer what it is and why it has been taken.
There are rules about when employers can make deductions from wages. If the issue is specifically an employer deduction you disagree with, read “Can my employer deduct money from my pay?”
Could Benefits or Salary Sacrifice Affect My Take-Home Pay?
Some workplace benefits can affect the way your pay is calculated.
Salary sacrifice usually involves agreeing to reduce your cash salary in return for a non-cash benefit or another arrangement, such as certain pension contributions.
If you have recently joined, left or changed a benefit or salary sacrifice arrangement, check whether this explains the difference.
Look at any recent benefit changes alongside your payslip rather than assuming the difference is a payroll error.
If you do not understand how an arrangement affects your pay, ask payroll or HR to explain it.
Yes. Payroll mistakes can happen.
If you have compared your gross pay, tax code, tax, National Insurance, pension and other deductions and still cannot explain the difference, contact your employer's payroll or HR team.
Explain:
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which pay period you are asking about;
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what you expected to receive;
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what you actually received;
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which figure on the payslip appears different;
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and why you think it may be incorrect.
Keep your payslip and any relevant emails, timesheets, bonus information or other records that support your query.
If your employer confirms that your wages themselves have been underpaid, read “What should I do if I have been underpaid?”
Could It Be a Payroll Error?
Things To Think About
Things To Think About
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Is my gross pay different from last month?
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Has my tax code changed?
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Has the amount of Income Tax changed?
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Has my National Insurance changed?
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Has my pension contribution changed?
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Is there a new deduction on my payslip?
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Did I receive overtime, bonus or commission this month?
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Have I had sickness absence, unpaid leave or another change in hours?
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Have I recently changed a benefit or salary sacrifice arrangement?
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Can payroll explain the difference?
What Usually Happens Next
Once you identify which figure has changed, you can usually narrow down who needs to help resolve the issue.
If the difference relates to your tax code, you may need to check the information HMRC holds for you.
If it relates to gross pay, hours, overtime, pension processing or another payroll deduction, your employer's payroll or HR team should be able to explain how the figure was calculated.
If a mistake has been made, ask your employer what needs to be corrected and when any adjustment will appear.
Keep the relevant payslips and correspondence until the issue is resolved.
If the issue turns out to be wages that should have been paid but were not, move to the WorkAnswers guidance on underpayment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my take-home pay lower even though my salary has not changed?
Your gross salary can stay the same while your net pay changes because the deductions from it have changed. Compare your tax code, Income Tax, National Insurance, pension and any other deductions with your previous payslip.
Can a change in my tax code reduce my take-home pay?
What should I do if I think my payslip is wrong?
Compare it with your previous payslip and identify the figure you think is incorrect. Check your gross pay, tax code and each deduction, then ask payroll or HR to explain the calculation. Keep the relevant payslips and any records that support your query.
If the issue is not simply a change in tax or deductions and you believe your employer has failed to pay wages you were due, check how your pay should have been calculated and raise the discrepancy promptly. Read “What should I do if I have been underpaid?” for the next steps.